ORGANISERS of Brighton’s bike share scheme have warned cyclists to keep their bicycles out of the project’s designated parking bays.

On Friday, before the scheme officially launched, someone left their own bike in a hub in London Road.

It was something that organisers were concerned about beforehand and they plan to monitor the issue.

Tim Caswell, owner of Hourbike, the company which created the scheme, said: “It is something we are going to have to keep an eye out for.

“We are hoping people don’t park their own bikes in the Life bikes’ spaces.

“All the parking hubs are being leased to us anyway so we are acting like a private firm and we have a licence to remove private bikes if necessary.

“We will be putting warning notices on the bays if this becomes a wider issue.

“This is not what the parking bays are for.”

The bike share scheme, which kicked off on Saturday, proved a hit on its first weekend.

More than 300 people signed up to it on Thursday evening and organisers said people were taking bikes out from as early as 2am on Saturday.

There are 35 parking hubs already installed around the city, with another 15 still to be completed by the end of the month to accommodate the 450 bicycles.

One man who firmly backs the scheme is Conservative councillor Nick Lewry, of Hangleton ward.

He was disappointed with the misuse of the bike racks.

Cllr Lewry said: “It’s disrespectful. There is always someone who has to spoil it for others.

“I think it could damage the scheme in the long term.

“It’s a great idea and has already got a lot more people on the bikes such as commuters and even people who just want to go to the shops.

“We need to push this scheme, not damage it.

“It needs to be a success for the city.”

The bikes are similar to the Santander Cycles in London, which adopted the nickname Boris Bikes.

They cost £1 to sign up to and 3p per minute while using them.

On Saturday, we spoke to some of the many people out enjoying the bikes, which were already being used in a variety of ways.

One woman, Sara Merriman, hopped on one of the Life bikes to get home from a night shift at the Hilton Metropole.

Many others were on weekend trips and using the bikes to see the sights Brighton has to offer.

The only bad comment about the bikes was a minor technical payment hiccup on Friday.